This white paper will provide an overview of a range of video enhancements that are emerging now in the consumer TV and professional AV industries. These are collectively called “better pixels” as they will improve the viewing experience – in some cases, quite dramatically.

The objective of the paper is to define what these “better pixel” features are, how they will benefit professional users and the implications for the entire content-to-display pipeline. The key professional application for video content today is cinema, so we will mostly focus on this. However, the technology is starting to spread to other advanced professional markets like simulation, medical, military, etc. – which is why this paper is important

While the focus of the paper is on professional projection, no discussion of better pixels can take place without an understanding of the consumer television market and how better pixels are expected to be adopted there. In reality, the consumer TV and professional AV markets are pushing each other in the development, standardization and deployment of better pixel hardware and software.

Table of Contents

Introduction

4

What are Better Pixels?

4

Consumer TV vs. Professional Projection

4

Higher Brightness

5

Benefits & Trade-offs

5

Uniformity

6

Benefits & Trade-offs

6

Enhanced Resolution

6

Benefits & Trade-offs

9

High Dynamic Range and Contrast

9

Benefits & Trade-offs

11

Wide Color Gamut (WCG)

12

Benefits & Trade-offs

13

High Frame Rate (HFR)

14

Benefits & Trade-off

15

Bit Depth

15

Benefits & Trade-offs

16

3D

17

Benefits & Trade-offs

18

Summary

18

Implications for the Capture, Processing and Distribution of Better Pixel Content

18

Better Pixel Capture

18

Better Pixel Processing

19

Better Pixel Distribution

20

Implementing a Better Pixel Projector

20

Applications for Better Pixels

21

Cinema

22

Design

26

Training & Simulation

26

Rental & Staging

26

Corporate

27

Conclusion

27

Insight Media

Insight Media is a technology consultancy focused on emerging technology in the ProAV, cinema, broadcast, consumer electronics and display industries. The company authors white papers and articles on these topics, provide technology and market assessment services and hosts events to discuss key technology trends in these market segments.